My First Time @ Planta Toronto

My First Time @ Planta Toronto

Hi Friends! Anna here.

Pam’s birthday and our official business launch just happened 2 days and we are so stoked… So far so good, pushing out our content and spreading awareness. We are happy to be here and excited for the future.

At the end of the day we decided as a family to take Pamela out for dinner for her birthday and I suggested one of her favourites which she doesn’t go too often – Planta Toronto.

She had told me it was a fancier, more gourmet all vegan restaurant. YAY, I love to try new things…

We went as a family, my sister and I, our SO’s and our parents. Also, the first time the 6 of us had been to dinner together. Shout out to family bonding.

So Planta’s aesthetic and style is literally amazing. I need to talk about this. They’ve decorated the place in a chic modern, open-space earthy vibe and I basically drooled walking in the doors. They had all different types of seating like low tables with comfy chairs, harvest tables with chic rose gold geometric artsy chairs, high tops, and oversized couch booths making the whole room seem mismatched but also perfectly matched. I guess the restauranteur and hospitality geek I am was fangirling… like a lot. The room is half done in white and green palm leaf wallpaper and the other half in small white brick with a dark chestnut floor. Again – drooooooling.

Not only did they have all this but they had clearly very instagrammable and photogenic spots, like their swinging pillow chairs in the front lobby, a cute front door sign – smart, free advertising and a cute pic for the ladies.

Now let’s talk bar. This. Bar. Was. My. Dream. Come. True. It was decorated in rose gold pineapples and flamingos – I love pineapples and rose gold. It was done all black with a mirror in behind the liquor to open the space. All the bar gear from shakers to strainers were this rose gold shiny aesthetic lined up in the perfect place to be shown off as a tool and decor – smart again, cute and useful and makes the space look clean and tidy. I’ve actually always wanted a rose gold shaker set so to see so many in one spot was making my legs shake with the bartender connoisseur I dream to be. I knew walking in this was a real bar, real cocktails and REAL mixologists. I could not wait to see the menu.

So if you know Pam of course the place was 100% vegan and plant based with many gluten-free options so most of us in my family were safe with all of our allergy concerns to eat here but we did have to be weary of nuts as they do have nuts in their kitchen but when we informed our server of our allergies there was no flinch or concern, he said no problem and told us we’d have a safe meal no matter what we chose.

Their menu was pretty big, a nice wine list, starters, salads, small plates, big plates and pizza. We all got something different and decided we’d pick off each others plates to try it. But first my hands went to this amazing cocktail menu I knew they would have after seeing a bar like that.

They had mocktails (which any good bar should with this day and age IMO), home made juice, juice shots, beer, non-alc drinks and of course a choice of about 6 or 8 very expertly crafted cocktails. You could tell this list was maybe seasonal and updated occasionally as the list wasn’t very large but every single drink sounded incredible. I couldn’t decide.

Kevin being as cocktail passionate as me was going through the list with giant heart eyes as well. We ended up going with their “pineapple express” and “charcoal sour”. The sour for Kevin being whiskey based and the pineapple for me.

Kevin’s drink had whiskey, lemon, charcoal syrup, aquafaba (for foam), and REAL ACTUAL activated charcoal. In a alcoholic drink, so unique, so different, so expertly crafted it had to be good. Kevin really enjoyed it and said it was very different than a lot of other drinks we’ve experienced.

My cocktail was a spiced mezcal (agave based, YUM, I am a big agave girl), agave syrup, pineapple briottet (Um, if you’ve never had this, you need too, its like a high quality liqueur and to die for, here’s some info) , lemon, (REAL) pineapple, and garnished with a spicy salty rim and dried pineapple. So this has a little something I am in love with in every ingredient, and

LET
ME
TELL
YOU

It was amazing, I savoured every sip like no tomorrow. After a stressful weekend at work and big launch day this drink made me have the feels I needed to to relax and really enjoy myself.

These drinks use real ingredients, no powders, fresh and unique tastes and flavours and I probably could have just sat at their bar all night drinking and chatting with the bartenders. I also have this weird thing where watching a bartender is so much fun to me, it’s like watching a science show if they’re doing it right but more fun and more alcohol. It’s an art and very under appreciated. I cannot wait to get this drink again.

Now onto the good stuff – FOOD.

I ended up choosing a few things to try and share with Kevin. We got the coconut ceviche made with avocado, corn nuts, lemon and slices of coconut. I got the fried GF mushrooms on the side and pulled jackfruit pineapple tacos. Kevin also got a non-GF calzone but I respect it.

We all got something different to try and nothing disappointing, everything was fresh and flavourful and made me consider moving to Toronto with every bite. One day, I tell myself. The big city seems to call more and more everyday. The jackfruit tacos made me feel like I was under the sun in Mexico again, the coconut ceviche reminded me of sitting on the patio in Lima, Peru cliffside eating fresh fish overlooking the ocean- but instead vegan fish which made me smile, this was almost better to be honest. The fried mushrooms were the highlight of this dinner for me htough, they were like nothing I’ve ever had before and free of gluten. I was scarfing them down as I was starving but they reminded me of a healthier – lighter – fluffier tempera fried vegetable from a chinese restaurant but much more high quality and truly tasty. Kevin and I could have just eaten 8 plates of these mushrooms I swear.

Next visit I pledge to eat these mushrooms and sit at that bar for a minimum of 3 hours, please. It’s my new happy place, my new heaven. Haha – I know I am lame and the biggest hospitality geek you’ll ever meet.

Either way, this was a great night and a beautiful dining experience. I cannot wait to go back and I highly recommend to all.